Chatham House Prize: Abiy Ahmed is nominated for his efforts to transform civic leadership and advance plural politics and free speech in Ethiopia, as well as for ending decades of hostility with Eritrea, progressing gender equality and injecting hope for a more peaceful and integrated Horn of Africa. July 20, 2019
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.Tags: #March4Abiy, Abiy Ahmed, Africa, Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia, Horn of Africa Afairs, PM Abiy Ahmed, PM Abiy Ahmed Europe Tour
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Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Abiy Ahmed is nominated for his efforts to transform civic leadership and advance plural politics and free speech in Ethiopia, as well as for ending decades of hostility with Eritrea, progressing gender equality and injecting hope for a more peaceful and integrated Horn of Africa.

Within months of coming to power, Abiy Ahmed sought to rehabilitate Ethiopia’s decades-old authoritarian regime – releasing thousands of political prisoners, decriminalizing opposition groups and initiating reforms to repressive laws. He also appointed a gender-balanced cabinet along with the country’s first female head of state and first female president of the supreme court. Under Abiy, Ethiopia has moved from being one of the world’s worst jailers of journalists to a country with growing press freedom.
The prime minister’s swift action to bring about peaceful relations with Eritrea paid immediate dividends, bringing neighbouring countries into the fold and boosting plans for regional integration. The speed at which he opened civic space and moved to dismantle the politics of animosity and suspicion in the sub-region has been striking given Ethiopia’s entrenched political, security and economic challenges. He has fostered optimism about his potential to help develop good governance and effect positive change in national, regional and global affairs.
Abiy Ahmed’s dramatic appearance on the political scene in 2018, and the once unimaginable achievements registered within such a short period, make him a source of hope for the youth in Ethiopia and throughout Africa, the youngest continent in the world. He has become one of the new faces of African leadership – one that promotes ethical leadership, rights and freedoms, despite the risks this incurs, and his actions deserve recognition on the international stage.
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Vatican News: Pope Francis receives Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed January 23, 2019
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.Tags: Africa, DAVOS, Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia, Oromia, PM Abiy Ahmed Europe Tour, POPE, POPE FRANCIS, VATICAN, World Economic Forum
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Pope Francis receives Ethiopian Prime Minister,
Source: Vatican News
On the afternoon of Monday 21 January 2019, Pope Francis received in Audience Mr Abiy Ahmed Ali, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
Pope Francis on Monday met with the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, at an Audience at the Vatican.
According to a communique from the Holy See Press Office, the “cordial talks” emphasized “important initatives underway for the promotion of national reconciliation, and for the integral development of Ethiopia”. The talks also focused on the “role of Christianity in the history of the Ethiopian people”—Ethiopia was one of the first lands to adopt Christianity, and the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church remains the largest religious body in the country by population.
A significant sign of peace
During the discussions, the situation in Eastern Africa was addressed, including the importance of the “peaceful resolution of conflicts and the socio-economic development of Africa.” In particular, Ethiopia’s “commitment to the stabilization of the Horn of Africa,” and the recent resumption of diplomatic relations with Eritrea were noted.
Earlier this month, in his address to diplomats accredited to the Holy See, Pope Francis took special note of the “historic agreement” between the two countries, which he described as one of the significant signs of peace in the past year.
Exchange of gifts
At the conclusion of their encounter, the two leaders made a traditional exchange of gifts, with the Prime Minister offering a present of traditional Ethiopian fabrics, along with a painting of the Risen Christ. The Holy Father, for his part, presented Prime Minister Abiy with a medallion with an image of an ear of corn and a bunch of grapes in the desert – a reference, the Pope explained, to the prophecy of Isaiah, that the desert would one day become a garden. Pope Francis also gave the prime minister a copy of the text of the Message for the World Day of Peace, and bound copies of four other Pontifical Documents: Evangelii gaudium, Laudato sí, Gaudete et exultate, and Amoris laetitia.
Following the Audience with the Holy Father, Prime Minister Abiy met with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and Msgr Antoine Camilleri, Under-Secretary for Relations with States.
Related from Oromian Economist sources:-
A conversation with Abiy Ahmed, The Prime Minster of Ethiopia, World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, @wef https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting/sessions/a-conversation-with-abiy-ahmed-prime-minister-of-ethiopia
BBC: Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed: The leader promising to heal a nation January 3, 2019
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.Tags: Abiy Ahmed, Africa, Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia, Oromia, Oromo, PM Abiy Ahmed, PM Abiy Ahmed Europe Tour, Qeerroo, Reforms
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Ethiopia’s Abiy Ahmed: The leader promising to heal a nation

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been widely praised for introducing sweeping reforms aimed at ending political repression, writes BBC Africa editor Fergal Keane after visiting the country.
The crowd at the airport in Jimma in Ethiopia’s Oromia region was handpicked and universally rapturous.
But these were not the praise-singing party hacks who so often grace the arrivals and departures of powerful men in Africa.
Men and women, old, young and very young – beaming babies were held above the crowd – had gathered to witness the arrival of a political sensation.
“We are so very happy,” an elderly man shouted to me above the sound of the military band, “it is like a renaissance. We have waited so long for this.”
Shift from autocracy
Then Abiy Ahmed was among us, descending the steps of his plane to delighted cheers, testing the nerves of his security detail as he reached into the crowd to kiss a baby here, embrace an old man there.
I was conscious of an extraordinary fusion between the driven energy of an individual and the hope of a nation. Africa has rarely seen anyone like him.

At 42 he is the youngest leader on the continent but his impact is far greater than his age suggests.
When the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coalition elected him prime minister nine months ago the country, Africa’s second largest in terms of population with more than 100 million people, shifted decisively from a long period of autocracy.
He ended a 20-year conflict with neighbouring Eritrea, freed thousands of political prisoners, unfettered the media and appointed women to half the cabinet posts.
Parliament also accepted his female nominees for president and head of the supreme court.
On top of that, he asked a dissident leader to return from exile in the United States to run the electoral commission.
![Quote: Thousands, if not millions, of people paid [a heavy price] to see this kind of change in this country](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/E7D9/production/_105035395_datapic-bm1-a6zzt-nc.png)
The pace of change has delighted pro-democracy activists and thrown more reactionary elements off balance.
Fourteen years ago, Birtukan Mideksa spent 18 months in prison as leader of an opposition party before leaving for exile in the US.
She was as surprised as most observers when Mr Abiy invited her to return and chair the National Election Board.
“Thousands, if not millions, of people paid [a heavy price] to see this kind of change in this country… to see this opening,” Ms Birtukan told me.
“To have a former opposition leader, former dissident, to lead an institution with significant independence of action… means a lot.
“For those people who paid a price in the process, it’s really significant,” Ms Birtukan added.
‘Use ideas not weapons’
But change has inevitably emphasised the significant challenges still facing Mr Abiy.
When I caught up with him at a graduation ceremony for medical students in Jimma he appealed to them to “use ideas not weapons” and to follow the example of a nation like Japan, which recovered from World War Two to build a sophisticated economy.
Key facts: Abiy Ahmed

- Born to a Muslim father and a Christian mother on 15 August 1976
- Speaks fluent Afan Oromo, Amharic, Tigrinya and English
- Joined the armed struggle against the Marxist Derg regime in 1990
- Served as a UN peacekeeper in Rwanda in 1995
- Entered politics in 2010
- Briefly served as minister of science and technology in 2016
- Became prime minister in April 2018
Ethiopia has one of the fastest growing economies in the world but still has a vast number of unemployed young people.
This is both a reservoir of potential talent and potential dissent if Mr Abiy’s moves to liberalise the economy and tackle corruption do not succeed swiftly.
The prime minister was addressing the graduates in Jimma against a backdrop of deepening ethnic conflicts across the country.
Ethiopia has more than 80 different ethnic groups.
The divisions are old and deep rooted, but they flared up with a new intensity in the first half of last year when 1.4 million people were forced to flee ethnic conflict in the west of the country, according to the UN.

Overall, some 2.8 million people have been uprooted from their homes in recent years. The other major concern is the fighting on the borders of the Oromia and Somali regions.
Over decades, the central government used force and a whole battery of repressive legislation to quell ethnic unrest.
Predictably, this merely gave an impression of national cohesion while unaddressed grievances festered. They erupted into protest in 2016.
‘Steel in Abiy’s voice’
Demonstrations by members of the Oromo community – Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group – precipitated the resignation of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and the election of Mr Abiy.
Mr Abiy is the first leader to come from the Oromo community but has stressed that he is a leader for all Ethiopians.

When I caught up with him in Jimma I asked if he was the man to unite an increasingly divided country.
He was being ushered away from the crowds by his guards but the question made him pause.
Looking around he caught my eye and shouted above the noise: “Of course I am. No doubt about it!” There was steel in the voice. And then the smile returned.
Last month, Mr Abiy established a reconciliation commission to deal with some of the issues.
This may provide an outlet for the airing of uncomfortable truths about the past but the greater challenge is the federal constitution which divides regional government along ethnic lines.
Respecting ethnic rights while fostering the idea of a nation will demand considerable political and legal sure-footedness.

Abiy’s reforms in 2018

- May – frees thousands of political detainees
- June – lifts state of emergency
- July – alongside the Eritrean president declares the end of war between the two nations
- September – reopens land border with Eritrea
- October – appoints women to half of ministerial posts
- November – appoints ex-opposition leader to head electoral commission

In the Tigray region, in the north, there have been ominous stirrings.
Although Tigrayans compose only a small percentage of the population they dominated the previous government.
In recent months, prominent Tigrayans in the army, security services, as well as business figures, have been accused of human rights abuses and corruption.
Travelling in Tigray one frequently hears concerns about the alleged marginalisation of the once-powerful group.

A former communications minister, Getachew Reda, told me he thought Tigrayans were being turned into scapegoats.
It was as if only Tigrayan leaders were responsible for past abuses under the ruling coalition, he said.
Although still calling himself a friend of Mr Abiy he believes the young leader risks creating a failed state.
“He symbolises the kind of ambition, the kind of courage to storm the heavens that youth would represent.
“But he also represents the kind of tendency to gloss over things, the kind of tendency to try to telescope decades into months, years… to rush things.”
For the moment Mr Abiy has the momentum and no shortage of energy.

Even in Tigray, the ordinary citizens I spoke to saw him as an inspirational figure.
Elsa Tesfaye is a small-holder farmer who lives close to the border with Eritrea and lost a brother to the war between the two nations.
For her Mr Abiy is the man who brought peace “and I thank him for that”.
‘Revivalist preacher’
She worries about ethnic divisions and whether her son – an engineering student – will be able to work in other parts of the country if the situation deteriorates.
“[The reforms] are great. But it still needs a bit of work. If ethnic conflict… and hate could be removed I would be satisfied.”
Mr Abiy is a devout Pentecostal Christian and there is something of the revivalist preacher in the way he evangelises for his vision. He has the energy, the passion and the certainty.
The question is whether he can prevent an escalation of conflicts without resorting to the repressive methods of the past, and maintain his reformist momentum up to the next elections in 2020.

Read more about Ethiopia’s reforms:
- The women smashing Ethiopia’s glass ceiling
- Father reunited with long-lost daughters
- Making peace with ‘Africa’s North Korea’

Before he left Jimma I managed to speak with Mr Abiy again.
He greeted me with a traditional embrace and kiss. This was Mr Abiy being the consummate politician.
The world should look at the example of Ethiopia, he told me, to see how people can live together in peace. Given the vast numbers of displaced it seemed more a statement of ambition than reflective of any current reality.
But on the central question of reform he was adamant.
“Would anything stop you?” I asked.
“Not at all,” he replied with a vehemence that left no room for doubt.
Related from Oromian Economist Sources:-
Abiy Ahmed: The Ethiopian Prime Minister who captured Africa’s imagination, CNN
Macron hails reformist Ethiopia PM Abiy Ahmed on first Europe trip. France/Ethiopie: Emmanuel Macron salue les réformes menées par Abiy Ahmed October 30, 2018
Posted by OromianEconomist in Uncategorized.Tags: Abiy Ahmed, Africa, Ethiopia, France, Oromia, PM Abiy Ahmed Europe Tour, PM Dr. Abiy Ahmed
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Ministirri Muummee Dr. Abiy Ahimad affeerraa pirezidantiin Faransaay Imaanu’eel Maakroon isaaniif taasisaniin kaleessa Faransaay turtii taasisaniiru.
Jarman: MM Abiy walgahii Compact with Africa irratti hirmaataa jiru, BBC Afaan Oromoo
ለ ጠ/ሚ አብይ አህመድ ከፖለቲካ በፊት ሰውነት ይቀድማል፡ ከምርጫ በላይ መሳም ይበልጣል. ሰው ሰው የሚሸት መሪ .
Macron hails reformist Ethiopia PM on first Europe trip
French president Emmanuel Macron (R) and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed are both keen to present themselves as reformist leaders
French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday hailed “unprecedented” moves by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to transform his country as the young African leader makes his first trip to Europe.
Abiy, 42, has won global praise for forging peace with neighbouring Eritrea, announcing economic reforms and reaching out to dissidents, but is grappling with bloody ethnic disputes which have displaced some 1.4 million people.
Macron offered “all my support and that of France” in reforming Ethiopia and “in calming domestic tensions”, telling Abiy at a press conference in Paris: “You have here a country which loves yours but also admires the transformation you are carrying out”.
“I know how much he has risked to see these reforms through and how much these reforms are fraught with difficulties, but also how much Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has chosen a courageous path,” Macron told reporters.
“The political, economic, social and cultural transformation that you are in the process of carrying out and that you’ve committed to in Ethiopia is unprecedented,” added Macron, another leader keen to present himself as a reformer.
Abiy vowed to tackle the violence gripping Ethiopia, saying it would be resolved through “greater peace-building in the whole country”.
“The communal conflicts cannot undo the reform agenda,” he added, arguing that economic reforms would help end the violence by bringing greater prosperity.
“The reform process is contributing to greater peace in the country,” he said.
Analysts see no single cause for the killing that has stretched from the countryside to the capital and left scores of Ethiopians dead.
But they say Abiy, who inherited a vast, ethnically diverse nation used to the iron-fisted rule of his predecessors, has his work cut out for him as he seeks to impose his leadership without tipping into authoritarianism.
French officials signed a string of cooperation deals with their counterparts from Africa’s second most populous nation, in areas ranging from transport and energy to culture.
French experts are set to advise Ethiopian officials on how to open the national palace, dating back to the rule of Haile Selassie who was emperor until 1974, to tourists.
Related, Oromian Economist sources,
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has started his tour of Europe. He will start in France where he will meet with President Emmanuel Macron. Ahmed will then proceed to Germany to attend the G-20 meeting. CGTN’s Girum Chala has more…
France/Ethiopie: Emmanuel Macron salue les réformes menées par Abiy Ahmed
He was received by German’s Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The Prime Minister is expected to have bilateral discuss with Merkel shortly.
The Premier will address 25,000 Ethiopians drawn from different European countries in Frankfurt tomorrow.
Moreover, he will attend the second edition of the Compact with Africa (CwA) meeting schedule to take place later today. At least 12 African heads of state will also attend the event.
The CwA was initiated under the German G20 Presidency to promote private investment in Africa, including in infrastructure.
The CwA’s primary objective is to increase attractiveness of private investment through substantial improvements of the macro, business and financing frameworks.
It brings together reform-minded African countries, international organizations and bilateral partners from G20 and beyond to coordinate country-specific reform agendas, support respective policy measures and advertise investment opportunities to private investors.
The initiative is demand-driven and open to all African countries. Since its launch in 2017, the CwA has sparked great interest.
So far, 11 African countries have joined the initiative- Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo and Tunisia. Click here to read from the source, Fana